Review of the history of superconductivity

Review of the history of superconductivity

It has been over 100 years since Dutch physicist Onnes discovered the phenomenon of superconductivity. About 20 years after the discovery of zero resistance, German physicist Meissner discovered another property of superconductivity, perfect diamagnetism. Zero resistance can bring about revolutionary changes in the transportation and management of electricity, and perfect diamagnetism can be used in magnetic levitation trains, contactless bearings, and magnetic shielding, etc. In 1937, Type II superconductor with high magnetic limits was discovered. The Type II of superconductors led to the industrialization of medical Magnetic resonance image (MRI) and high-magnetic field magnets. In 1960, the tunneling phenomenon, in which electrons move from one conducting layer to the opposite conducting layer through a thin insulating layer in superconductors and semiconductors, was observed and its mechanism was theoretically established by Josephson. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors that utilize the tunneling phenomenon at the Josephson junction are used in a wide range of fields, including medical and geomagnetic detection, and their scope of use is expanding to Quantum computers. In 1986, a high-temperature (T_c) oxide superconductor whose T_c exceeded the superconducting temperature limit of the BSC theory was discovered. Physicists are also making efforts to elucidate the high-temperature superconductivity phenomenon, which is difficult to explain with the BCS theory based on the interaction of phonon vibration and electrons. If a room-temperature superconductor is discovered through exploration on new superconducting materials, the future human life and industry will be innovatively changed by the superconducting technology.